With the coronavirus crisis affecting every aspect of our lives, it’s not surprising there’s been a lot of gravel event rescheduling these past few weeks (keep track of all California events here).
As there is still uncertainty when gatherings can resume, many events have been hopeful for a return in fall while others have been outright cancelled.
One of the first to reschedule was one of the country’s largest events, the Sea Otter Classic out of Monterey.
Originally slated to run from April 16 – 19, this large festival which fills a large void of the shuttered Interbike, has been moved to October 1 – 4. UPDATE: Sea Otter has been cancelled for 2020 with an announcement made on July 1st. More information here.
The Belgian Waffle Ride which many consider the premiere gravel race in California also made the call to push back from May 3 to November 8.
Last year’s race saw the inclusion of many pros from the roadie world and 2020 looked to have an even stronger field.
Eroica California which has expanded to gravel bikes on top of its classic format already postponed its April 5 date back to September 26.
Bike Monkey which produces a number of events throughout the year has moved back the Truckee Dirt Fondo to September 5 while the early season Fish Rock was cancelled for April 4.
The Grasshopper Adventure Series what was able to fit in Low Gap and Super Sweetwater before the crisis has moved its Huffmaster Hopper back to October 10 while cancelling May’s Skaggs and June’s King Ridge events.
June’s Lost and Found, a popular multi-day event hosted by Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship, has been cancelled unable to provide refunds to the number of sunk costs covered by this non-profit, but is still hopeful for their first Meadows to Mountains event September 26:
….We’ve been asked why the Lost and Found 2020 registration fees aren’t being refunded. For SBTS as a 501c3 non-profit, the event cancelation is a serious economic hardship. We fully understand the gravity of COVID-19 caused job losses, including layoffs within our own staff ranks that have already occurred due to the pandemic. For this grassroots non-profit facilitating recreation and events while providing jobs in economically depressed communities, refunding the event registration fees would lead to the end of SBTS as an organization. We run a lean, fiscally prudent operation, and dollars earned through our events are redeployed into the community through local jobs….
At the same time, many other events are either on hold or have been cancelled.
Redlands Strada Rossa was slated for March 21, but a listing from their page mentions a possible reschedule for Summer / Fall.
The inaugural Broken Spoke Challenge out of Ventura has been postponed from March 28 to June 20 which is one of the earliest reschedules on the calendar. (UPDATE 5/26/20: The Broken Spoke Challenge has been cancelled for 2020. You can either donate, defer or get a refund for your entry)
As of press time, the SLO Ride to Hell is still slated for May 17, but expect an announcement soon (UPDATE: the 2020 edition has been cancelled).
Recently announced, the inaugural Foresthill Fondo presented by Folsom Auburn Trail Riders Action Coalition has been cancelled for May 9.
Also still on the calendar for that month is the already postponed Wild West Gravel Grinder, now scheduled for May 30, but expect another announcement at the beginning of the month. (UPDATE: The Wild West Gravel Grinder has been cancelled and looks to return in 2021).
More Updates:
- 5/23/20 – Stetina’s Paydirt which was slated to run out of Carson City, Nevada on September 19th has been postponed until September 11th, 2021. Participants may ask for a refund, defer to 2021 or transfer to other Bike Monkey events.
At the moment, the situation is still fluid, but Gravel Bike California will post updates as they come.